I'm Just a Beast Tamer

Chapter 28: Chapter 26: The Gambler

"Granny, you said we should report the thieves to the authorities, but it’s the middle of the night. Is anyone even at the Government Office?"

Subai walked over and asked curiously.

"There are people on night duty at the Government Office. In some places with poor security, there are even night watchmen making their rounds. Let’s tie these three up first. You’ll come with me to report them."

Granny Mei thought for a moment before speaking.

This was common sense for humans, but the Demon Race handled such matters completely differently.

Besides, Subai had never left the ancestral lands of the Celestial Fox Race since she was a child, a place almost entirely isolated from the outside world.

They might never encounter such a situation again, so Granny Mei felt it best to personally guide Subai through the experience.

If any human heard that it took several years just to learn their common sense, they would surely find it laughable.

But Granny Mei was a little worried that this amount of time might not be enough.

"Alright."

Subai nodded.

Carrying an oil lamp, Subai and Granny Mei walked together through the pitch-black streets.

"I heard Jiang Zuo has to go into hiding for a few months. I don’t know when he’ll be back. I’m afraid it’ll be a long time before I can eat his meat buns again."

Subai said with a hint of regret.

At first, she thought that the delicacies and snacks sold on the street, even if not as good as Jiang Zuo’s, couldn’t be that much worse.

But after buying and trying some, she discovered they couldn’t even begin to compare to his.

After getting used to Jiang Zuo’s meat buns, eating anyone else’s felt like chewing on wax.

Having gone a few days without Jiang Zuo’s meat buns, Subai was already starting to miss them.

And then there were those even more delicious rice noodle rolls. No one sold them on the streets outside, so she couldn’t even settle for a substitute.

"Seeking advantage and avoiding harm is only human nature. Besides, he’s probably practicing martial arts in secret. I don’t know how he’s training—it seems different from what I’m familiar with—but he should be safe while he’s in hiding. He’ll come back when he feels it’s safe."

"Practicing martial arts? How strong can one get at their peak?"

"I’ve never seen it myself, but it’s said that after cultivating True Qi and becoming an Innate Martial Artist, they can split mountains and cleave the earth."

"How come that sounds even stronger than a cultivator in the Qi Cultivation realm? Can an Innate Martial Artist really rival a cultivator at the Dao Foundation realm?"

"An Innate Martial Artist can probably match a low- to mid-tier Qi Cultivation cultivator, but they’re unlikely to be a match for a High-Tier Qi Cultivation cultivator. Spiritual Qi and True Qi are fundamentally different. An Innate Martial Artist probably couldn’t even break through the most basic Body Protection Technique."

The old woman and the young girl chatted as they walked, and soon they arrived in front of the Government Office.

The Government Official on night duty had been dozing off, but all his sleepiness vanished the instant he saw the old and young figures approaching like ghostly apparitions.

For a moment, he thought he was seeing a ghost.

It wasn’t until Granny Mei explained that they had caught some thieves and were there to report it that the Government Official snapped out of it. He quickly called for his colleagues to go and retrieve the culprits.

...

「The next day.」

In the public hall of the County Magistrate’s Office.

Normally, a trivial matter like catching a few thieves wouldn’t need to be reported to the County Magistrate.

But after some thought, Steward Luo decided that Zhang Bingjun should be made aware of the situation.

"I recall giving an order to keep a close watch on Jiang Zuo’s house, did I not? It hasn’t even been three days, and someone’s already gone there to steal? What were they worried about, that someone else would beat them to it?"

Zhang Bingjun looked at the three petty thieves kneeling and trembling in the hall and couldn’t help but laugh in anger.

Recently, nothing had been going right, and he was bogged down by trouble. Zhang Bingjun was already simmering with rage.

To think that his words, the words of a dignified Sixth-Grade County Magistrate, were treated like farts—not even a petty thief feared him.

"Your Excellency, it is my failure. I ask for punishment!"

Chief Lu said in shame.

He himself felt disgraced by the matter.

"Your Excellency, how should we deal with these three? The local thieves have indeed been getting too brazen lately."

Steward Luo said.

"Parade them through the streets as a public spectacle, then give them thirty strokes of the cane, and finally, banish them from Red Fox Town permanently."

Zhang Bingjun said coolly.

"Your Excellency! No! We know we were wrong! Please don’t banish us from Red Fox Town!"

"Your Excellency, please spare us!"

Hearing this, the three kneeling men panicked and began begging for mercy.

Zhang Bingjun couldn’t be bothered with them and left with his hands behind his back.

’If killing them weren’t too excessive, these scoundrels would already be dead.’

’They should be secretly celebrating that they’re still alive. And they expect lenient treatment?’

"Guards, drag them out!"

Chief Lu certainly felt no sympathy for them.

Later, he would have to order his men to beat them severely, to show all the other people in town with sticky fingers what would happen if they dared to commit any crimes.

...

"I’ve finally made it to Chongming Town!"

Jiang Zuo stared at the gates of Chongming Town, feeling an urge to burst into tears.

Seven days! Seven days!

It took him a full seven days to get from Sifang County to Chongming County.

It was so damn hard!

’The world outside Red Fox Town really is dangerous. If I weren’t strong enough, I probably would’ve gotten lost and died in the mountains.’

’I can never trust my so-called sense of direction again!’

’I thought it would be like a game, where as long as I didn’t change my path and kept walking in one direction, I’d arrive straight at Chongming County.’

’But reality isn’t a game.’

After two days without reaching Chongming Town, Jiang Zuo suspected he might have taken a detour.

After three days, he thought he must be very close to Chongming Town.

It wasn’t until the fourth day, when he found himself standing before a border checkpoint, that Jiang Zuo finally gave up on that idea.

After getting directions from a kind person at the checkpoint, Jiang Zuo turned around and set off for Chongming Town once again.

After another day passed, Jiang Zuo came to terms with his limitations. When he came across a horse-drawn carriage, he decisively paid for a ride.

Halfway through, at a remote post station, he switched to another carriage and traveled for another day.

On the seventh day, he finally arrived in Chongming Town.

It wasn’t all bad news, though.

After seven days, Jiang Zuo discovered his body hadn’t grown much larger.

Only when he exerted himself did his muscles bulge, forming steel-like bands.

Jiang Zuo guessed the reason was that changes to his build were most closely related to his Physique.

The last time his body grew, it was probably because he was still in his growth phase and had suddenly added 10 points to his Physique.

This time, although he had added 60 points to strength, his Physique hadn’t increased at all.

As a result, his build had barely changed.

"WOOF! WOOF!"

Ninth Generation Great Black was also very happy, its little tail wagging furiously.

After a week in the wild, its small frame had actually grown a little bigger.

...

Compared to Red Fox Town, Chongming Town was much more dilapidated.

If nothing else, just looking at the buildings in town revealed a subtle air of decay.

The clothes of the pedestrians were also far shabbier than those in Red Fox Town.

Jiang Zuo wasn’t surprised.

Although he had only been to Sifang County, many of the people there came from various towns and villages.

After a few trips to Sifang County, Jiang Zuo had learned that the standard of living in Red Fox Town was much better than in other places.

If it weren’t for Red Fox Town, Jiang Zuo feared he wouldn’t have been able to grow up in such comfort.

A place as suitable for living as Red Fox Town wasn’t easy to find, which was why Jiang Zuo wouldn’t have left unless he had no other choice.

’This should be the street.’

Jiang Zuo arrived at a rather quiet street.

According to Xu Mingde, the guide he was looking for, Zhao Qian, lived here.

"Excuse me, sir. I’m looking for Zhao Qian. Do you know which house is his?"

Seeing an old man walking over, Jiang Zuo went up to ask.

"Zhao Qian? He moved away from here a long time ago. If I remember correctly, he lives on West Ninth Street now."

The old man glanced at Jiang Zuo, thought for a moment, and then answered.

Although Jiang Zuo had been roughing it in the wild for a week, his clothes weren’t shabby, just a little dirty.

But in Chongming Town, this actually helped him blend in with the surroundings.

"West Ninth Street?"

Since it was his first time here, Jiang Zuo naturally didn’t know where West Ninth Street was.

"Head west from here. You’ll be almost there when you reach the end of the street. You can ask someone else for directions then."

"Alright, thank you, sir."

Jiang Zuo figured that was his only option.

After thanking the old man, Jiang Zuo led the little black dog and, a short while later, arrived near West Street.

However, the environment here clearly started to worsen. The clothes of the residents were even more tattered than those on the outer streets.

Jiang Zuo had to ask several people before one was willing to point out where West Ninth Street was.

A little while later, Jiang Zuo finally reached West Ninth Street.

West Street was likely where the poorest residents of Chongming Town lived.

And West Ninth Street, if not the most dilapidated part of West Street, was probably close to it.

Before he even got close, the strong stench of a sewer assaulted his nose.

Jiang Zuo held his nose and walked in. On West Ninth Street, he saw only a few children playing and one scruffy-looking middle-aged man sharpening a wood-chopping knife.

When they saw Jiang Zuo walk in, the children and the scruffy man all looked over.

The children, a little scared, backed away and ran off.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

The middle-aged man frowned at Jiang Zuo.

"I’m looking for Zhao Qian. Is he here?"

The entirety of West Ninth Street was narrow, with not many residents—only twenty or thirty households at a glance.

If Zhao Qian lived here, he would be in one of these houses, and this middle-aged man would surely know him.

"Zhao Qian? If you’re here to collect a debt, you’re too late."

The middle-aged man sneered.

"Collect a debt? What happened to Zhao Qian?"

Jiang Zuo frowned.

"Looks like you’re not one of his creditors. Zhao Qian owed a huge sum to a casino. He couldn’t pay it back, so he was taken away to work in the mines. No idea if he’s still alive."

The middle-aged man said after sizing Jiang Zuo up.

’He racked up gambling debts and got sent to the mines to pay them off?’

Jiang Zuo was a little speechless. He hadn’t expected the Zhao Qian that Xu Mingde recommended to be so unreliable.

"What do you need him for? I remember before he got addicted to gambling, he was a hunter who often sold goods he caught in the mountains. If you’re looking to buy mountain goods, I could introduce you to a few people."

the middle-aged man said thoughtfully.

’If I refer some business, I can get a small commission.’

"No, I need him to guide me to Cowherding Village. Do you know if anyone else knows the way?"

"Cowherding Village? Heh heh, I actually do know someone, and I guarantee not many people know the way better than him. I can take you to him, but you’ll have to give me a finder’s fee."

The middle-aged man was a bit surprised, but he couldn’t help but chuckle when he heard "Cowherding Village".

"A finder’s fee? How much?"

"One tael of silver."

"Five Hundred Copper Coins."

"Deal. I’ll take you there now, but don’t even think about backing out of the deal, or I won’t be so polite."

The thought of earning five hundred copper coins just for leading someone there instantly energized the middle-aged man.

"If the person knows the way, you’ll get your money."

He had gone to great trouble to find Zhao Qian, only to discover he was gone.

Jiang Zuo didn’t want to waste his breath arguing over a few hundred copper coins. He just considered it a payment for information.

However, if this man thought he could rip him off, then he shouldn’t blame him for getting rough.

The middle-aged man led Jiang Zuo through a series of twists and turns to a hidden location.

As he got closer, Jiang Zuo could hear all sorts of shouts and cries coming from inside.

It was, in fact, an underground casino.

’This must be where Zhao Qian gambled himself away.’

A burly man stood guard at the casino entrance. When he saw the middle-aged man approaching with Jiang Zuo, he merely glanced at them without trying to stop them.

’It seems the middle-aged man is a regular here.’

"That’s the guy over there. If you want to ask for the way to Cowherding Village, he’s definitely your man!"

Once inside the casino, the middle-aged man pointed to a person and said to Jiang Zuo.

One look was all it took for Jiang Zuo to know the middle-aged man hadn’t lied to him.

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